Alamogordo mayor wants spot zoning in Otero County

Alamogordo Mayor Susie Galea says spot zoning in Otero County will ensure flight zones are not obstructed for Holloman Air Force Base's pilots.

Galea made the comments Thursday morning to Otero County Commissioners and suggested examining the regional value of spot zoning on properties located in military flight areas.

"I come here asking that you put on your future agenda a spot zoning program over the flight space that the military installation uses," Galea said.

Galea explained that she had recently talked with Lincoln County Commissions about the same issue because landowners there have the potential to set up wind farms and transmission lines that could hinder Holloman's mission.

"We are trying to protect Holloman," Galea said. "Certainly, Holloman welcomes the wind farms and other transmission lines as long as they are strategically placed."

She said representatives of Lincoln County did not agree with her proposal of spot zoning and decided it was the landowners' rights to place wind farms or transmission lines wherever they wanted on their own land.

"So essentially I feel that they are trying to squeeze us out of an air force base," she said.

Galea said Lincoln County representatives would not comply and saw no need for spot zoning if Otero County did not have it. On that note, she requested Otero County start spot zoning to set the example for other counties in the region.

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District 3 Commissioner Ronny Rardin said he thought zoning wasn't the correct term to use or the proper approach to the situation.

Rardin said he was in favor of creating a disclosure statement to inform people who move into the county about certain aspects of the area.

"It's going to make noise and it is going to pop booms and it is part of our ecosystem, if you will," Rardin said in reference to sounds created by military flights. "It's what makes us who we are. It's our way of life."

Rardin said the county has the space for the military to carry out its missions, and the county definitely wanted to protect the area.

But Rardin said he was opposed to imposing more laws on landowners in the county. He said more discussion would be needed about the situation and that the county will try to work with other counties on the issue.

No decision was made Thursday about spot zoning. According to businessdictionary.com, spot zoning is a variation of zoning in which a parcel of land is zoned for a different purpose than the surrounding area.